Screen-door attachment.



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SCREEN noomATTAc'HMENT.

(Applicaeion med June s, 1901A v2 sheets sheet (No Mndel.)

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Witwe-osea n4: nomas Pains co.. PHoTaLlTo. wAsHwaroN. n. c4

No, 692,7". l yPatented Feb. 4,1902.

.M. HUMMEL. v SCREEN DOOR ATTACHMENT.' (Appxipation med l.mma s, 1901.)A

(No Model.) 2 sheets-sheet 2.

THE mums ncfins co.. Paolo-umn.. wunmorcn, D, c,

UNITED STATES* PATENT FFICE.

Minn RoMMEL, oF wEs'rGATE, IOWA.

`4SCREENDOOR ATTACHMENT.

SPECIFICATIQN ferming'partef Letters Patent No. 692,711, dated February 4, 1902. Application led Tune 8, 1901. Serial No. 635768. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, MIKE ROMMEL, a citizen of the-United States,residing at and whose post-office address` is Westgate, in thev county ofFayette and State of Iowa, have invented new and useful Improvements in Screen-Door Attachments, of which the followingis a speciiication.

vThis invention relates to screen-door attachments, the object in view'being to provide means whereby upon the opening of a screen-door flies and other insects will be frightened and dispersed so effectively as to enable the screen-door to be opened and closed wit-hout danger of the flies passing through the doorway into the building protected by the screen-door when closed. e

Flies and other insects which accumulate upon the outside of a screen-door always crawl toward the top of the door, and it is therefore the aim of the present invention to provide a movable guard which covers the upper portion of the outer surface of the door, which guard is automatically swung or agitated as soon as an attempt is'made to open the screen-door, thus either throwing 0E the flies or insects or else'frightening them suffieiently to enable the .dopr to. be opened and closed without admitting "the iiies.

With the above general object in view thc invention consists in fa screen-'door attach ment embodying certain novel4v features and details of construction andarrangement, asf

hereinafter fully described, illustrated, and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lisV a perspective view showing a screen-door with.`

the attachment applied thereto, showing also the operating means; Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the same. larged detail perspective view of the lever and link disconnected. Fig. 4 is a similar view of the lever-operating device. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the hinged guard.

Similar numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all figures of the drawings. In order to illustrate the application of the present invention, I have illustrated in Fig.

1 a door-frame 10, in which is mounted a' screen-door frame 1l, covered with the usual screen material 12, the screen door being shown as hinged at 13 tothe main door-frame.

at its edges adjacent to the cut-away portion to an inclosed frame 17, forming a slot 18, which extends vertically of the guard and parallel to the free or swinging edge of the screen-door, saidslot being formed for the reception ofone armof lthe operating-lever.'

Connected to theuupper bar of the frame 14 and extending downward withinthe slot 18 is an arm 19,to the lower end of which is pivotally connected one end of a link 20, the op-l posite end of which'is pivotally connected to the upwardlyprojecting extremity of the curved or hooked arm 21 of a lever which is At a suitable point thel A screen material 16 is cut away and connected f pivotally mounted on the top bar of the screen-door by providing said lever with ope positely-projecting pintles 22, which are receivedvin bearing-brackets 23, fastened to the top ofthe door, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The 'lever also comprises the upwardly-projecting arm 24, which extends above the pivot of thelever and is providedwith an extension 'or' angular portion 25,l which cooperates with f a lever-operating device"26,secured to the Atop of the door-frame .10, asshown in Figs. 1

and 2 i The guard 14 is pivotally connected at its .upper edge'to the door, the upper bar of the frame ofthe guard being held by eyes or staples 27, fastened -to the screendoor frame and forming bearings for the guard, permitting the lower free edge of the guard to be swung outward and inward relatively to the screendoor. The leveroperating .device consists,

preferably, of a strip of spring metal, one endV of which forms the base or attaching'po'rtion 28, which is provided with openings 29 toreceive suitable fasteners which are driven into the door-frame, while another portion of the strip is 4bent to form an upwardly-inclining portion 30, then a downwardly-inclining por tion 3l, and finally an upwardly-inclining terminal portion 32. The parts 3l and 32 form a depending lip with reversely-inclined surfaces, which operate with a cam action upon the angular extension 25 of the upper arm of the lever, so that when the screendoor is opened the lower arm 21 of the lever is thrust outward, thereby, through the medium of the link 20, rocking the arm 19 away from the door, and consequently moving the fly-guard 14 as a whole away from the door. After the door has been opened sufficiently the extension 25 passes beneath the pendent operating portion of the spring device on the doorframe,and the weight of the guard causes it to fall backward against the outer surface of the screen-door with a slam, which effectually scatters the flies and insects which have accumulated onthe outside of the door and guard. In closing the door the lever-operating device yields to permit the lever eXtension to pass beneath the pendent spring-lip and to resume its normal position in the upwardly-converging space between the portions 30 and 3l of the lever-operating device, such position being illustrated in Figs.1 and 2.

The iy-guard is entirely automatic in operation and requires no attention whatever on the part of the person opening and closing the screen-door. As the fiies or insects gather adjacent to the upper portion ot' the door the swinging guard in opening and slamming shut again will effectually frighten away the iiies and prevent them from gaining access through the doorway during the short time that the screen-door is open.

Various expedients may be resorted to for imparting the necessary movement to the iyguard, and the form oi the guard itself may be varied, and of course the guard may be made in a number of sizes tosuit the screendoors to which they are applied and other conditions. I therefore do not desire to be limited to the details of construction and arrangement hereinabove set forth and accordingly reserve the right to change, modify, or vary the construction Within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination with ascreen-door, of a fly-guard hingedly mounted on and adjacent to the top of the door, a lever fulcrumed on the screen-door and operatively connected with said guard, and a lever-operating device mounted on the door-frame.

2. The combination with a screen-door, of a hinged iy-guard carried thereby, an operating-1ever fulcru med on the screen-door, a link connecting one arm of said lever with the fiyguard, and a lever-operating device mounted on the door-frame.

3. The combination with a screen-door, of a hinged iiy-guard mounted thereon and provided With a slot, an operating-lever connected with the fly-guard and operating within said slot, and a lever-operating device mounted on the door-frame.

4. The combination with a screen-door, of a movable fly-guard mounted thereon, an operating-'lever fnlcrumed on the door-frame and connected with said guard, and a lever-operating device mounted on the door-frame and adapted to yieldingly engage said lever.

In testimony whereot` I aftix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

, MIKE ROMMEL.

Vlitnesses C. B. GowEN, F. S. COLEMAN. 

